Searching passenger lists

The passenger lists in our archives

New Zealand Company: 1838-53. These include arrivals to Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth. These lists contain the names of the labourers who were recruited to support the development of the settlement. They do not usually include the New Zealand Company shareholders.

Assisted Immigration to Canterbury 1855-70. During this period, assisted immigration was managed by the provincial governments. Only those from Canterbury have survived.

Assisted immigration to the whole country 1870-88.

Commercial passenger lists and some crew lists, collected by customs: 1883-1973. These are inconsistent until around 1910 when they were more systematically collected.

Passenger list searches

All passenger lists held by us have been digitised and are available through FamilySearch. These lists are being indexed by volunteers using the records that are available through the FamilySearch website. The indexing is complete only for the assisted immigrant programme through to 1888. The remaining passenger lists are being progressively indexed by name with new entries being added over time. So, if you are initially unsuccessful with a search try again periodically.